Arkansas River Valley residents awoke to snowfall Monday morning only to find the winter weather short-lived as temperatures had risen above freezing and snow moved out of the area by early afternoon.

Russellville received about 1-2 inches of snow, which had turned to slush as the temperatures rose.

“We were really blessed that it wasn’t any worse than it was,” Pope County Judge Jim Ed Gibson said.

Gibson said areas of the county that typically see more issues during icy conditions, such as Crow Mountain and Mill Creek, were sanded throughout the day to keep the roads as clear as possible.

Russellville Public Works director Michael Oakes said road crews were patrolling Russellville at about 6 a.m., sanding potentially icy areas and the heavier traveled areas of town. Skyline Avenue, which was closed for about an hour Monday, was the only road to be shut down due to icy conditions. The city also closed its offices at 11 a.m. Monday amid weather concerns.

While the possibility of the roads freezing overnight lingered, Oakes said road crews would combat the ice wherever necessary.

“We’ll have the crews out in the morning and should have everything sanded down by 7 o’clock,” he said. “We intend to monitor the situation and try to react with our crews if it appears to be freezing.”

Yell County Judge Mark Thone said he didn’t expect the roads to provide much hazard for drivers Tuesday morning.

“Our roads are fairly clear over here,” he said. “There’s a little slush in a couple of places, but the majority of our roads are pretty clear.”

As of 4 p.m. Monday, Russellville Police Chief Tom McMillen said an incident in which a car ran into a ditch was the only accident reported Monday.

“The roads have been relatively clear,” McMillen said. “There’s been no major incidents due to the weather. People abided by the speed and were pretty cautious out there.”

Monday’s ominous forecast of heavy snowfall prompted many school districts to cancel classes late Sunday night, a decision Russellville Superintendent Randall Williams said was made in response to the forecast.

“We look at all available reports and, typically, if there’s a warning in effect, it’s a lot easier for us to make a call because if the National Weather Service is predicting a winter weather warning, that’s hard to argue with,” Williams said.

Williams said the call was made to cancel Monday’s classes Sunday so parents could make plans for their children accordingly.

“We try to make the call as early as possible so people can make plans, because we realize it does kind of inconvenience people,” he said.

The decision to cancel classes on Tuesday, he said, would depend on the condition of the roads in the morning and if they froze overnight.

Entergy Customer Service Manager Bruce Tucker said no weather-related power outages were reported Monday.

Despite wintery conditions Monday, temperatures are expected to reach 51 degrees today, with thunderstorms tomorrow and temperatures predicted to be in the high 50s this weekend, according to www.weather.gov.

Brian Smith, senior forecaster for the National Weather Service, said the fluctuation of weather patterns is common for Arkansas winters.

“It’s actually not all that strange,” Smith said. “So far, in the next seven to 10 days, we’re not seeing anything that jumps out, but we can get measurable snow well into March, especially in the Arkansas River Valley.”

Smith attributed the weather patterns to high pressure moving into the area and warm air rising from the Gulf of Mexico.